In the Ravenous Dark

A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead.

In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them—and control them. Ever since Rovan’s father died trying to keep her from this fate, she’s hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she’s bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception.

Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can’t fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul.

Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld, and find a way to trust the princess and spirit battling for her heart—if she doesn’t betray them first.  

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How to review this book?

Well, I didn't not enjoy it. Physically it's a very lovely book ... look at that gorgeous cover! Parts of it were fun. It was well written and there was loads of rep of different kinds. The Grecian ish background was fun (although some more explanations, or a glossary, would have been nice; I frequently had to choose between stopping reading to look up a term for a piece of clothing or weapon, or having no mental image of the character, because I didn't know what a peplos looked like.)

Personally, I thought there could have been more explanation about the magic system. I'm not the type of reader who likes to figure things out (unless I'm reading a thriller, of course), I like them laid out for me in this type of read. This one needed a lot of thinking about and working things out, so if you like that kind of read, this is for you. It is a really clever and unique system though, I don't think I've read anything quite like it before.

And then, of course, there's the instalove. The bane of my reading life. I ignored it as much as possible, but in case it's an issue for you, reader, I will tell you that the main character ends up in a polyamorous relationship - not my thing, but more power to her, I hope they're very happy together - and there is a quite explicit sex scene, m/f, at one point. This is definitely a read for an older teen.

However, this is not a cliffhanger; there's scope for more in the series, but this is a self contained read. So if you're looking for something you don't have to wait a year to read the end of, this could be it.

All in all not terrible, I'm grateful I got to read it, and I'll certainly read more by the author; just not as good as it could have been, for me.

In the Ravenous Dark publishes on the 18th May, 2021. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.